Heath Evans, who makes a rough-and-tumble living as fullback for the NFL champion New Orleans Saints, has a soft spot in his heart for children who are the victims of sexual abuse.

Evans’ wife, Beth Ann, as a third-grader, was sexually abused almost daily by a classmate.

On Saturday, Evans was in the Hyatt Regency Buffalo, where he received the 2010 Call To Courage Award before several hundred Buffalo-area sports fans.

A devout Christian, Evans was honored for starting a foundation dedicated to fostering hope and healing in the lives of children and families devastated by sexual abuse.

Counseling and intervention are key to this playbook.

“Statistics show that 1 in 4 young girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18, and 1 in 6 boys will experience sexual abuse,” Evans said, before getting the award.

A father of two, he bristles at the suggestion that victims of sexual abuse can just get on with their lives and forget about what has happened.

“That’s like saying, just put a Band-Aid on cancer,” he said. “This is emotional cancer; these victims are eaten alive inside.”

The Heath Evans Foundation provides access to a variety of programs, treatments and services in communities with great need and scarce resources.

A Florida native, Evans, 31, and his wife met when he was attending Auburn University.

Currently in therapy for a knee injury, he offered some spiritual insight into the Crescent City team’s Super Bowl win in February against the Indianapolis Colts.

“Why wouldn’t the good almighty Lord want the Saints to win?” said Evans, who added that the win helped the community to overcome some of “the hurt and heartache” from Hurricane Katrina.

The Buffalo awards breakfast was sponsored by Buffalo Pro Ministry of Athletes in Action, founded by former Buffalo Bills quarterback Frank Reich, now quarterback coach for the Colts.

Each year, Reich presents the Call To Courage Award to an NFL player displaying outstanding character, commitment and leadership on and off the field and in the community.

Host for the breakfast was Bills all-pro rookie safety Jarius Byrd.

The Call to Courage Award for an outstanding high school football player went to Robert Malave, a South Park High School senior.

Finalists for that honor were James Donner, Niagara Wheatfield; Tyler Krempa, Williamsville South; Kyle Martin, Wilson Central; and Levi Pace, Medina.